Credit: Bristol Township Police
Water dripping from the ceiling onto the desk of a Bristol Township police officer lead to the discovery that a 29-year-old man being held on a warrant was causing havoc in the prisoner holding cell above.
According to police, Middletown resident Matthew Gulick put toilet paper or his white shirt into the toilet and clogged it. The water reportedly damaged carpeting, lighting fixtures, ceiling tiles and other items in the police station.
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Gulick was taken in by police during a car stop following a suspicious persons call in early July at Emilie and Bristol-Oxford Valley roads. Court papers show he was wanted by the sheriff’s office on warrants for multiple probation violations.
As police took him away, he was told he was headed to jail, police said. They added that he told officers he was going to the hospital to begin rehab and that his probation officer knew.
At the Bath Road police station, Gulick was being “very aggressive in his posture,” according to authorities.
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Police said they then placed the 29-year-old in a holding cell. Not too long after, the flood was discovered.
Over two inches of water flooded the floor holding cell 5 and Gulick stood on a bench, leaning over the toilet, police said.
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A police officer wrote in an affidavit he “could not enter the cell due to the large amount of water and the violent actions on Gulick.”
As police and a civilian employee stopped the flow of water, Gulick began attacking walls and lighting fixtures with his fists, according to court documents. Police also said he spit on staff.
Additional officers responded to the station to help.
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Gulick was eventually cuffed from the outside of the cell and transported to the hospital to be checked out.
Police said it may cost as much as $5,000 to repair the damage to the police station.
District Judge Joanne Kline arraigned Gulick on charges of aggravated harassment by a prisoner and institutional vandalism. He was sent to county jail on 10 percent of $50,000.
